Lincoln County man accused of violent assault seeks new trial site

A Lincoln County man sentenced to 25 years in the Montana State Prison after allegedly running over a bicyclist and nearly killing him in 2016 is once again seeking his freedom after the state Supreme Court reversed his conviction.

Brian Thomas Norvell was sentenced to 25 years in 2017 after he pleaded no contest to aggravated assault. The case began in 2016 when Norvell was accused of running over a Flathead Valley man, Luca Johnson, who was riding his bike on Montana 37 south of Eureka.

According to court documents, after allegedly running over Johnson, Norvell got out, went through Johnson’s backpack and stole his wallet. Norvell then attempted to hide his car in the woods, but later returned to the scene, handed the wallet over to authorities and admitted to the crime.

Previous media reports indicate Johnson had to be airlifted from the scene and spent four days in the hospital. Johnson suffered two skull fractures, a broken ankle, broken toe and several broken bones in his foot in the crash that sent him flying across the pavement, covering him in road rash.

But the Montana Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that Norvell’s conviction be tossed after he successfully argued he had been detained for too long before his initial court appearance.

He was jailed May 9, 2016, and didn’t appear in court until May 26, 2016. He also didn’t have access to an attorney until a public defender noticed him on May 19 and filed of writ of habeus corpus on May 24.

Also, Norvell was placed in solitary confinement, according to the court ruling.

Norvell filed a motion to dismiss the charge Nov. 21, 2016, because his constitutional right to due process had been violated, but the Lincoln County District Court denied the motion on March 21, 2017.

In his appeal, Norvell argued that while he was unnecessarily detained, he was not provided some of his medications for treatment of schizophrenia, a diagnosis he had received at a young age.

The court document indicated he had not been taking his medication at the time he ran over Johnson, who worked at Sportsman & Ski Haus in Kalispell at the time.

While the aggravated assault charge was dismissed, Lincoln County prosecutors refiled the charge recently.

But Norvell’s attorney, Alisha Backus, is now arguing for a change of venue for the jury trial.

The motion, filed Nov. 5 in Lincoln County District Court, asks that the court transfer the case to another county in which a fair trial may occur or direct that a jury be selected from another county if the court decides to keep the trial in Lincoln County.

Backus argued in the motion that when the initial charge was filed, misinformation, rumors and inflammatory news articles and radio ads were published throughout Lincoln County.

She also pointed out that comments on a fundraiser site for Johnson’s benefit referred to Norvell as “evil” and a “piece of crap.” She also noted a Montana Highway Patrol online link to a newspaper story that had several comments with a lynch mob mentality that called for life in prison for Norvell.

Yet another exhibit in the defense’s motion are Facebook posts by Sportsman & Ski Haus that garnered comments that attacked Norvell. Backus argued that the pre-trial publicity created a lynch mob mentality that was reignited when the papers began printing articles recently discussing how Norvell’s case had come back on an appeal.

She argues the court must move the trial away from this mentality to a populated area, distinct and apart from Lincoln County and the Flathead Valley, where the alleged victim worked, in order for Norvell to have a fair trial.

Norvell is also facing an assault charge on a county corrections officer that allegedly occurred in September 2016. The officer was allegedly punched repeatedly by Norvell while he tried to give medications to the inmate.

The officer was bloodied and received eight stitches.

According to a Dec. 22, 2015, story in The Western News, Norvell faced domestic assault charges after he allegedly assaulted his father and another woman inside the father’s residence in Libby.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.